Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles
Summary 1.?Age at maturity is hard to estimate for species that cannot be directly marked or observed throughout their lives and yet is a key demographic parameter that is needed to assess the conservation status of endangered species. 2.?For loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the North Atlanti...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:300740 2023-07-30T04:05:27+02:00 Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles Scott, Rebecca Marsh, Robert Hays, Graeme C. 2012-02 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/300740/ unknown Scott, Rebecca, Marsh, Robert and Hays, Graeme C. (2012) Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles. Functional Ecology, 26 (1), 227-235. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x>). Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x 2023-07-09T21:37:21Z Summary 1.?Age at maturity is hard to estimate for species that cannot be directly marked or observed throughout their lives and yet is a key demographic parameter that is needed to assess the conservation status of endangered species. 2.?For loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, juvenile growth rates (c. 10 cm year?1) were calculated by examining size increases during transoceanic journeys; durations of which were estimated from satellite-tracked Lagrangian surface drifter buoy trajectories. 3.?Lagrangian-derived growth estimates were used in a weighted loglinear model of size-specific growth rates for loggerhead turtles and combined with newly available information on size at maturity to estimate an age at maturity of 45 years (older than past estimates). 4.?By examining the age at maturity for 79 reptile species, we show that loggerhead turtles, along with other large-bodied Testudine (turtle and tortoise) species, take longer to reach maturity than other reptile species of comparable sizes. This finding heightens concern over the future sustainability of turtle populations. By maturing at an old age, sea turtles will be less resilient to anthropogenic mortality than previously suspected. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Pacific Functional Ecology 26 1 227 235 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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Summary 1.?Age at maturity is hard to estimate for species that cannot be directly marked or observed throughout their lives and yet is a key demographic parameter that is needed to assess the conservation status of endangered species. 2.?For loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, juvenile growth rates (c. 10 cm year?1) were calculated by examining size increases during transoceanic journeys; durations of which were estimated from satellite-tracked Lagrangian surface drifter buoy trajectories. 3.?Lagrangian-derived growth estimates were used in a weighted loglinear model of size-specific growth rates for loggerhead turtles and combined with newly available information on size at maturity to estimate an age at maturity of 45 years (older than past estimates). 4.?By examining the age at maturity for 79 reptile species, we show that loggerhead turtles, along with other large-bodied Testudine (turtle and tortoise) species, take longer to reach maturity than other reptile species of comparable sizes. This finding heightens concern over the future sustainability of turtle populations. By maturing at an old age, sea turtles will be less resilient to anthropogenic mortality than previously suspected. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scott, Rebecca Marsh, Robert Hays, Graeme C. |
spellingShingle |
Scott, Rebecca Marsh, Robert Hays, Graeme C. Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
author_facet |
Scott, Rebecca Marsh, Robert Hays, Graeme C. |
author_sort |
Scott, Rebecca |
title |
Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
title_short |
Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
title_full |
Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
title_fullStr |
Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
title_full_unstemmed |
Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
title_sort |
life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/300740/ |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
Scott, Rebecca, Marsh, Robert and Hays, Graeme C. (2012) Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles. Functional Ecology, 26 (1), 227-235. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01915.x |
container_title |
Functional Ecology |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
227 |
op_container_end_page |
235 |
_version_ |
1772817373980524544 |